Mexico: Philip V gold "Royal" 8 Escudos 1715 Mo-J MS62 NGC,...

Description

Finest Certified "Large Rosettes" 1715 8 Escudos - Perhaps Only the Third Known Example

Philip V gold "Royal" 8 Escudos 1715 Mo-J MS62 NGC, Mexico City mint, KM-R57.3 (Rare), Fr-7, Cay-9950, Cal-2196, Onza-401 (one known), Oro Macuquino-401 (one known), cf. Sedwick-M30. 27.00gm. Variety with large rosettes in the reverse legend. José Eustaquio de León as assayer. From the 1715 Plate Fleet. An enormously popular date in the series, not least for its strong ties to the famed 1715 Plate Fleet, with even the, by comparison, more common Cob 8 Escudos from this year bringing marked premiums. For this historic association, however, this specimen bears no evidence whatsoever of any time spent underwater, the strike fresh and gleaming with perhaps only the most minor evidence of die rust or stippling in the center of the royal Spanish shield. Moreover executed to a standard and level of craftsmanship that is plainly only imaginable within this redondo series, hardly a flaw existing anywhere to bound its glorious choice grade--currently the finest for this subvariety. While surrounding dates for this coinage are known to exist in finer technical states, this becomes almost a moot point when considering the rarity of the particular selection presented here--Calicó recording only one example of this "large rosettes" variety known in his book La Onza as of 2004 (from different dies), while the date itself was entirely missing from Norweb, Gerber, Karon, Millennia, and Bowers and Ruddy's 1977 sale of the 1715 Spanish Treasure Fleet. Interestingly, a different specimen is now plated in the 2019 edition of Numismática Española, with a distinctive flan flaw on the reverse. As such quite possibly only the third known example, and a numismatic centerpiece of the entire Mexican colonial series worthy of the utmost place of prominence in its future owner's cabinet.

Metal: Gold
Diameter: 35mm

More information about Mexican Coins. See also: Mexico World Coin Nationality.

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